Mayors Daley, ruling Chicago for generations, perfected Chicago politics. Obama and Rahm Emanuel learned at the current Daley’s feet. They are novices compared to the master, but they aren’t bad.
Daley does what he wants to do, then responds in gibberish when challenged. He promises whatever it takes to get reelected, then does what he pleases. Everything is conducted behind closed doors. The council meetings are a mockery.
Through two generations of Daley rule, there are enough people who depend on the Mayor to insure he gets reelected. Those who are dependent based on handouts, city jobs, city contracts, and other entitlements, vote. The precinct captains make sure they do. And, the union goons. He keep the Loop safe, so the non-dependent who depend on this safety pay the tab.
C-Span showed nine different Obama campaign speeches where he firmly stated that the health care reform debate would be on C-Span. No bill in the history of America has been conducted in greater secrecy. What, a broken campaign promise? He now acts like this is all the work of Reid and Pelosi and he has no skin in the game. Very much the same way Richie Daley would handle both. The actual work, and the response. It’s Chicago politics at it’s very best.
Give whatever you have to give away to get the Senate and House to give you the votes. Twist arms and threaten. Count the votes and re-count them. Make sure the actual vote is like a Chicago City Council Meeting, a non-event.
Collateral damage, no problem. Many of Daley’s councilmen and droves of judges are in prison, or have been. Many of Obama’s supporters in the Senate and House will be voted out in 2010. No problem.
Having spent over 30 years in surburban Chicago, this is easy to understand. Daley owns the media. Obama owns the media.
One difference. Daley knew after 9-11 that the one thing he couldn’t survive was a terrorist attack in Chicago. He knew he couldn’t trust the Federal Government to keep that from happening. In the middle of the night he tore up the runway at Meigs Field, the airport in downtown Chicago.
Obama thinks his incompetent people can protect him from this happening on his watch. He refuses to fire them and replace them with greater competency. He refuses to take an active role in this challenge. This hark-ens back to the idea that this is the only thing the country gave George W. Bush credit for doing well. He wants to demonstrate that it was no big deal. Sorry, President Obama, it is a big deal and fellow Americans get it. They see you can’t handle this. It has become and will continue to be your Achilles heel. It will be the biggest reason you will be a one-term president.
You should have studied under Daley longer. He would be water boarding the hell out of the Detroit bomber. He would just be doing it in a cellar in the Loop. Personally.
